Münster,
272 000 people, 50 000 of them students, is The bicycle city of
Germany. With a modal share of 35% (for a city 23 km in diameter), it
is experiencing troublesome bike parking problems. The creation of a
3300 space bike parking facility has met with enormous success and has
brought 2 000 additional cyclists to the Münster railroad station.

« The streets belong to everyone » : such is the spirit governing the
creation of the bike park by the city, in order to put an end to the
anarchic use of public space by bicycles.

Methods :

The main entrance to the Münster Radstation

Description of the offer :

Entry to the 3 300-space facility is free, the access ramp leads to the entrance of the Radstation.

Another
entrance is reserved to customers with a pass, who access it with a
card before parking their bike in the « pass-holder » section. However,
most of the pass-holding customers use the main entrance; this is just
as practical and thefts are just as rare.

The pass costs 70€ per year (7€ a month and 0.7€ a day, as in all the radstations).

Radstation's services : parking, cleaning, rental, reparation.

Organisation :

Idea/design

Investment/set-up

Management/operation

City of Münster (Westfäliche Bauindustrie)

City of Münster

IVV (Aachen)

The design gave rise to a great deal of discussion
concerning the place, the system, whether the facility should be under
ground or not, etc. The Radstation was planned by the city, or more
precisely by a company set up by the city (a « daughter company »),
Westfäliche Bauindustrie. The city also built the bike park and found a
private operator.

The ADFC, the German cyclists’
association, was consulted about the design of the project, but did not
take part in its funding.

Funding :

The city paid half of the 6.5 million euros of investments
(about 2000€ per bike), and the state of NordRhein Westphalia the other
half. 2/3 of the funding by the city was covered by a tax paid by
builders who are unable to create car parking spaces – i.e. 12 000
euros per space, which is used by the city to create car spaces (at
less than 12 000€ per space) AND, as a bonus, bike spaces.

The
operation of the facility is profitable. The private operator pays rent
(a modest amount, which will never repay the investment) to the city.
Two factors explain this profitability. First of all, the larger a bike
parking facility is, the better its chances of being financially viable
thanks to economies of scale. Next, supplementary services (bike
rental, repairs and even automatic washing in Münster) make a profit,
as customers are much more inclined to pay a fair price for such
services as for parking their bike, which they often feel should be
free of charge.

Communication :

The
building is visible from afar. Moreover, an advertising bus promoted
the Radstation when it was launched, with leaflets offering 3 days of
free parking. The facililty was full 6 month after it opened.

Résults :

- Strengths :
Operation is profitable. The facility is fully used at night (commuters
who use their bike or a second bike to go from the railroad station to
their jobs). The Radstation brought 2 000 additional cyclists to the
railroad station, meaning as many customers. The architectural
character of the building is interesting.